Richmond*

Although he did write several books especially for children, Charles Dickens was so celebrated among the Victorians that children of his day also read his novels and especially his Christmas stories. His works remain immensely popular today.

Charles Dickens lived all over London, and spent a few years in the Richmond and Twickenham areas. In the summer of 1839 he moved (from St Margarets) to Petersham, renting Woodbine Cottage first, then Elm Cottage (now called Elm Lodge, in Sudbrook Lane) in subsequent summers. While there, he enjoyed frequent swims in the Thames, between his cottage and Richmond Bridge about a mile downriver. Charles also liked to host parties at the Star and Garter Hotel on Richmond Hill. In 1850, W.M. Thackeray and Alfred Tennyson were among his guests at a party celebrating the publication of David Copperfield.

Eleanor Updale is the author of the Montmorency series of Victorian adventure stories. Having lived all around South London, Ellie moved with her family to Richmond in 2001.

Formerly a BBC TV and radio producer and editor, Ellie became a published author relatively recently. Her first novel, Montmorency (Scholastic Press, 2003), was an immediate success and won two awards. Since then, Ellie has written and published one Montmorency novel per year. For Montmorency on the Rocks, the second novel in the series, Ellie set some of the most dramatic scenes in Kew Gardens, including a fight scene at the top of the Pagoda, which she can see from her own kitchen window.